Monday, November 24, 2008

250 vs 30

The title of this post tells a tale, and we'll start back in the days when I was in the Armor School. The doctrine at that time was that an attacker had to be three times as big as the defender. This ratio of 3:1 was a rule of thumb, a generalization, a good guess. A determined defender could sustain his position against higher odds, and lackadaisical defender would lose to a smaller number of attackers. Other things might be force multipliers. Like tanks, or good intelligence, or well-planned ambushes, but generally, the 3:1 ratio was a good planning figure.

Then you get those guys who will just not be denied. Like that platoon of Marines in Afghanistan who took on 250 Taliban in an ambush and routed them. That's right. 250 Taliban sprung an ambush against a single platoon of Marines and got their asses handed to them.

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

Commanders estimate that Corporal Shewan killed 20 Taliban during the engagement. He did this under fire, one round at a time. That's very impressive.

Of course, every Marine counted in an engagement like this and all the guys deserve part of the credit. They whupped the Taliban in his own backyard.

At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

About Me

I'm a grandpaw who has lived a life of adventure, and resent having to slow down. I've been a Tank Commander, a Company Commander, an MP. My main career has been law enforcement, with 30 years and counting. At this stage of my life, the most important people in my life call me PawPaw. You've come to PawPaw's House. Sit back and enjoy.
Email me at ddezendorf at yahoo dot com (all spambots must die)